Chapter Three: "You're doing better than I would."
Hinata walked down the street, clutching the zipper of her jacket as she walked. Her eyes were on the ground and she was thinking deeply. Everything seemed to be falling apart. First her father actually told her how proud he was of her, and now Gaara had given her an ultimatum. She could have avoided all of this two months ago simply by saying no. She scuffed her sandal and tugged at her zipper absently. No one told her that she could say no, and if she had, who would have had to marry Gaara?
None of the girls she knew were married yet. Most didn’t even have a clear boyfriend, or at least were admitting to having one. Her eyes still watching the sidewalk, Hinata started to try to pair Gaara up with the other girls. There was Sakura. She was studying to be a medical ninja under the Godaime. Hinata tried to imagine Sakura resigning herself to being pulled away from her studying for this. Hinata shook her head, besides; she didn’t want to see Lee get mad at Gaara over anything. There was Ino, who had gone into teaching like Kiba had. She was still finishing the training to so, but she could be uprooted…
Hinata mentally shook herself. The idea of putting Ino with Gaara was not quite right. Ino liked to be able to control things and if Ino wound up in that situation, she would find that she couldn’t control anything at all. Hinata thought of Ten Ten and dismissed that as well. Ten Ten was working towards the next rank and to ask her to stop to live far away would be cruel. Hinata wasn’t sure what direction she was going in anymore. In the middle of deciding, the Godaime’s letter came and she decided to fulfill her duty to Konoha and marry the Kazekage. For almost three months, she had begun working towards that goal and now it could be taken away.
She wouldn’t have anything to do though. Her sensei had a new team to lead, her teammates had all moved on in their own paths. She also didn’t have a clear idea on what path she wanted. Hinata looked down the street, through the people rather than at them. She wondered if she had agreed to marry Gaara more out of finally finding a path rather than out of acknowledgement that it was her duty to Konoha. Frowning, Hinata’s heart stung. It was too much too fast and now that she had the opportunity to break it off, she wondered if she even could.
Finally she found herself in front of the main house. She stared at it from a distance, trying to imagine how much longer she could live there. She wasn’t eighteen yet, but most of her peers were moving in a direction that at eighteen they could support themselves amazingly well. Hinata didn’t have a job or income, and she couldn’t see herself moving out at eighteen to live somewhere else in Konoha, successfully at least. Just as Neiji would say when they were growing up, she wasn’t going to amount to anything and was too docile and nice to be a ninja.
Sighing, she went up the walk and entered the house, sitting in her room. Looking out the window, she saw Gaara was training. She stared at him a moment and then shut the curtains with a swish.
~*~
Kankuro noticed the curtains shut rather violently from the house as he walked over to Gaara. He was slightly agitated as he approached, calling out Gaara’s name before he got too close. The swishing curtains hadn’t done anything to ease his demeanor.
Gaara opened his eyes and looked straight ahead. He knew Kankuro was there, he didn’t need to look over his shoulder to confirm it. “What is it?”
“There’s a situation at Suna.” Kankuro spoke quietly so that his voice didn’t carry. “Five people are dead and they say more might be next. No one knows what’s calling it.”
The sentences hung in the air and Gaara turned around, looking at Kankuro. “When do we leave?”
“The word just arrived and the Kazekage is set to leave immediately once you join him at the front gates.” Kankuro met his eyes.
Gaara held his gaze and then he said quietly, “We should tell our escort that we are going.” He decided to ignore Kankuro’s glance and headed back into the Hyuga household. He entered the East end with Kankuro following. He wasn’t sure which room was hers, but he would find it.
Kankuro looked at the doors to choose from and remembered the curtain. “I think it’s this one.”
Gaara paused at the door and then knocked on it.
“Just a moment,” Hinata’s voice said from across the room and then they heard her footsteps before she opened the door. Her eyes widened as she looked up at them. “Wh — “
“We have to go back to Suna,” Gaara stated. “Something’s come up and we must go now.”
Hinata retreated back into her room and slipped her sandals back on, Gaara watching her the entire time as Kankuro looked behind them. He had a suspicion that if Hyuga found them outside his daughter’s bedroom door, things could get rather bad rather fast.
Hinata brushed off her pants and then said, “Let’s go.” She led them down the hall and out the front door. She glanced over at Gaara as they hurried in silence. He wasn’t looking at her, simply staring straight ahead, brooding. She knew better than to ask what had just happened in Suna. She was about to turn down towards the Hokage’s complex when Kankuro told her that they were to meet the Kazekage at the gates. Hinata turned back to the main road and they continued in silence. She again stole a glance at Gaara as they walked. The silence felt deafening and she wanted to break it, but she had nothing to say.
Finally they reached the main gates where the Kazekage stood with his entourage.
“You came quickly,” the Kazekage noted as the two Sand ninja joined the group. “Good. We must leave at once.”
Hinata watched them a moment and then her eyes widened. She had until Gaara left to tell him what she had decided, but he was leaving now. She had to say it now!
“Gaara!”
The redhead turned to look at her.
“I’m still willing to try, if you are!”
He met her eyes and then nodded before disappearing with the others in a cloud of sand.
~*~
Hinata was born during the coldest time of the year in Konoha. Sometimes on her birthday it snows, but today it was cloudy and cold, but not cold enough to snow. She sat on her bed and stared out her window. Today Gaara was coming but without the entourage. Since the day she had promised to keep trying, she had been to Suna twice and Gaara had come to Konoha once. Today, however, would be the first time he had come to Konoha without having to conduct business with the Hokage.
Hinata twirled one of the tie strings on her jacket, watching the knot twist around in her fingers. It was getting easier little by little. She still didn’t know what to say to Gaara most of the time, but it wasn’t so hard to look at him anymore. She looked out at her backyard and sighed. In just three weeks, she would report to Suna to participate in the festivities surrounding Gaara becoming Kazekage. She would be gone from Konoha for one week, the longest she had ever been away from her home in all her life.
She heard footsteps approaching her room and she stood up, straightening her clothes as she heard a knock. Opening the door, she saw her little sister Hanabi looking up at her. The girl was in the top of her class at the ninja academy and she was almost as tall as Hinata even though she was only five years younger.
“They’re here,” Hanabi told her and motioned her head in the direction of the main room.
Hinata thanked her and smoothed out her kimono. In Konoha her birthday was a widely-celebrated event since she was a heir to the Hyuga clan. However, since she agreed to marry Gaara, Hanabi had become the heir, but some people still sent wishes and gifts nonetheless. Hinata passed a table with them on it, and entered the main room, bowing to her guests.
Gaara and a ninja of the Sand Hinata had never met before were seated in front of Hyuga. When she entered, Hyuga looked to the Sand ninja and indicated that they leave. The ninja looked to Gaara who nodded, and the taller ninja left the main room.
Hinata slowly crossed it and then sat down in front of Gaara. His skin showed he was cold but the expression on his face and his body language masked it well. “Thank you for coming.”
He nodded, meeting her eyes. Hinata didn’t look away. “Happy birthday,” he said after a time and handed her a wrapped box. He didn’t offer an explanation or anything else. For a faint moment, Hinata roughly remembered one time when Naruto gave her something in the year before he left. He had gone on and on about how hard it was and everything about the process of getting her the gift. Yet, as soon as Naruto entered her mind, he exited. It was becoming easier to push him away from her thoughts.
“Thank you.” She gave him a small smile and took the gift. “Can I open it?”
He nodded.
Hinata carefully slipped a slim finger under one of the folds of the paper. It was simple paper and was rough and thick like a grocery bag. Carefully she broke the tape and then slowly removed the box from its wrappings. It was the size of a shoe box and made of a similar material. Suna wasn’t an extremely poor country but it was far bellow the stature of Konoha. That had been part of the source of their feuding over centuries. Opening it, Hinata parted the packing paper and then took out a decorated fan. Slipping it out, she felt the smooth stone ends and then flipped it open. The seven-inch fan spread out into a painted landscape with a sun overhead lighting the area. She closed it and carefully put it back in its box. “Thank you.”
Gaara nodded and they fell into silence. His green eyes looked around the room as Hinata looked down at the box still in her lap. Standing, she said in her quiet manner, “I should put this somewhere.” She headed to the door and looked over her shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”
She walked down the hallway carrying the box carefully. She glanced briefly at Gaara’s guard as she passed him. He seemed to be watching her with caution as though she could possibly be an enemy. Turning away, Hinata entered the east end of the house and opened the door to her room. She walked over to her bureau and placed the box carefully on top of it and put the wrapping paper in the trash. Pausing, she took a deep breath. Closing her eyes, she exhaled. It was so odd how much easier this was getting. The thought of that put her more on edge than Gaara ever had.
Dusting off her kimono, she sighed. They couldn’t stay in the main room for all the time he was there. The weather was cold and he didn’t have an adequate coat either. Folding her arms, Hinata looked around her room and then she sighed. She was taking too long. Walking back towards the main room, she looked outside. Konoha was preparing for Shogatsu and decorations were already up. The village-wide holiday lasted from the first until the third of January. It was only the twenty-seventh of December now though. Some countries didn’t celebrate Shogatsu. She wasn’t sure if Suna did or not.
She sat down in front of him again, the pair enveloped in silence. Even it felt more natural, conversation couldn’t come. He was too quiet and she was never sure what to say. Finally she asked, “Are you cold?”
“No.”
Hinata eyed him and fell silent again. She wanted to say something — anything, but nothing was coming. She looked down at her hands folded in her lap. She would not resort to talking about the weather. The last time she was in Suna she had talked about the weather. That had been too disjointed. Sighing inwardly, she said, “Thank you for coming.”
“You said that,” Gaara pointed out as he looked away from the window.
“I know,” Hinata murmured. “I just can’t think of anything to say or do.”
Gaara didn’t say anything. He continued looking out the window. The weather was becoming too tempting a subject. Finally, he said, “What day are you coming to Suna?”
“The eleventh,” Hinata responded, picking at her kimono. “I know it’s a day early, but I thought that I could come more quietly that way.”
Gaara nodded. This was going nowhere. He stood up, Hinata’s eyes following him questioningly. “Let’s go outside.”
Hinata stood up and brushed off her kimono before asking, “Do you want a coat? I’m sure that you could borrow — “
“I’m fine.” He put his hands in his pockets and started towards the front door, Hinata following out into the blustery Konoha afternoon. Putting her hands in the opposite sleeves, she fell in step with him.
They headed off towards the residential district, most people flocking towards the market district to prepare for the upcoming holiday. Hinata watched people heading in the opposite direction. Gaara watched them too as though waiting to glare. No one seemed to give either a nasty glance, some didn’t look at them, but some did smile, at least at Hinata.
“Hinata! Gaara!”
Gaara’s eyes instantly locked on the people coming towards them and Hinata’s soon followed before she returned their smiles. “Lee, Sakura, how are you?”
Sakura hooked a strand of her hair behind her ear. It was growing out again and hung down almost to her collar bone. “Good. We just met up around the corner on our way down to the market. Are you getting ready for Shogatsu?”
“Not yet,” Hinata replied.
As the girls began conversing about Shogatsu, Lee turned to Gaara. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“Yeah,” Gaara returned.
“How’s everything?” Lee asked as Sakura started talking about kimonos with Hinata.
“It’s okay,” Gaara replied, stuffing his hands deeper into his pockets.
“Cold?”
“No.”
Sakura leaned over, glancing at the boys before whispering, “So how are you doing?”
“Fine,” Hinata sighed.
Sakura looked over at Gaara. “You’re doing better than I would.” She looked back at Hinata. She debated saying something, but kept quiet. “How long is he staying?”
“Only today.” Hinata shifted her weight. She was cold and she wasn’t sure what she was really supposed to tell Sakura. She looked over at Gaara. He seemed to be turning blue, but kept up the façade that he wasn’t cold. She looked back over at Sakura. “We should be going.”
“We should be going too,” Sakura agreed as she walked back over to Lee.
The group exchanged waves and farewells and then they left in opposite directions. Gaara and Hinata walked down the sidewalk, color slowly returning to their cheeks with their brisk pace. “It was nice to see them,” Hinata said, breaking the silence.
“Yeah.”
They fell back into silence. Hinata looked around at the bare trees and cloudy sky. Then she looked over at Gaara. “Does Suna celebrate Shogatsu?”
“We celebrate something like it.” Gaara quickened the pace slightly to keep warm. “We have a Winter Festival to celebrate the coldest part of the year since it’s the best weather we have all year long.”
Hinata looked over at him. “What do you do?”
“There are costumes and dances,” Gaara explained. “Businesses close on the fourth day of celebration, but they stay open in shifts for the other days. The Kazekage can’t participate until the last day. He hides from the village for six days and then on the seventh day, he appears and we welcome the coming of spring.”
After a moment of silence, Hinata said, “That sounds interesting. Will you have to go into hiding for six days also?”
“No, it’s the last time I will be able to go out into the festival for a very long time.” They walked a bit longer and then he said, “You will tell me about it after we’re married,” he paused, remembering that he had to work on asking her things rather than telling, “won’t you?”
Hinata almost paused at the question and then she spoke. “Yes, I’ll tell you.”
“We should go back, I have to leave soon.” Gaara slowed his pace slightly.
“Alright.”
Hinata walked down the street, clutching the zipper of her jacket as she walked. Her eyes were on the ground and she was thinking deeply. Everything seemed to be falling apart. First her father actually told her how proud he was of her, and now Gaara had given her an ultimatum. She could have avoided all of this two months ago simply by saying no. She scuffed her sandal and tugged at her zipper absently. No one told her that she could say no, and if she had, who would have had to marry Gaara?
None of the girls she knew were married yet. Most didn’t even have a clear boyfriend, or at least were admitting to having one. Her eyes still watching the sidewalk, Hinata started to try to pair Gaara up with the other girls. There was Sakura. She was studying to be a medical ninja under the Godaime. Hinata tried to imagine Sakura resigning herself to being pulled away from her studying for this. Hinata shook her head, besides; she didn’t want to see Lee get mad at Gaara over anything. There was Ino, who had gone into teaching like Kiba had. She was still finishing the training to so, but she could be uprooted…
Hinata mentally shook herself. The idea of putting Ino with Gaara was not quite right. Ino liked to be able to control things and if Ino wound up in that situation, she would find that she couldn’t control anything at all. Hinata thought of Ten Ten and dismissed that as well. Ten Ten was working towards the next rank and to ask her to stop to live far away would be cruel. Hinata wasn’t sure what direction she was going in anymore. In the middle of deciding, the Godaime’s letter came and she decided to fulfill her duty to Konoha and marry the Kazekage. For almost three months, she had begun working towards that goal and now it could be taken away.
She wouldn’t have anything to do though. Her sensei had a new team to lead, her teammates had all moved on in their own paths. She also didn’t have a clear idea on what path she wanted. Hinata looked down the street, through the people rather than at them. She wondered if she had agreed to marry Gaara more out of finally finding a path rather than out of acknowledgement that it was her duty to Konoha. Frowning, Hinata’s heart stung. It was too much too fast and now that she had the opportunity to break it off, she wondered if she even could.
Finally she found herself in front of the main house. She stared at it from a distance, trying to imagine how much longer she could live there. She wasn’t eighteen yet, but most of her peers were moving in a direction that at eighteen they could support themselves amazingly well. Hinata didn’t have a job or income, and she couldn’t see herself moving out at eighteen to live somewhere else in Konoha, successfully at least. Just as Neiji would say when they were growing up, she wasn’t going to amount to anything and was too docile and nice to be a ninja.
Sighing, she went up the walk and entered the house, sitting in her room. Looking out the window, she saw Gaara was training. She stared at him a moment and then shut the curtains with a swish.
~*~
Kankuro noticed the curtains shut rather violently from the house as he walked over to Gaara. He was slightly agitated as he approached, calling out Gaara’s name before he got too close. The swishing curtains hadn’t done anything to ease his demeanor.
Gaara opened his eyes and looked straight ahead. He knew Kankuro was there, he didn’t need to look over his shoulder to confirm it. “What is it?”
“There’s a situation at Suna.” Kankuro spoke quietly so that his voice didn’t carry. “Five people are dead and they say more might be next. No one knows what’s calling it.”
The sentences hung in the air and Gaara turned around, looking at Kankuro. “When do we leave?”
“The word just arrived and the Kazekage is set to leave immediately once you join him at the front gates.” Kankuro met his eyes.
Gaara held his gaze and then he said quietly, “We should tell our escort that we are going.” He decided to ignore Kankuro’s glance and headed back into the Hyuga household. He entered the East end with Kankuro following. He wasn’t sure which room was hers, but he would find it.
Kankuro looked at the doors to choose from and remembered the curtain. “I think it’s this one.”
Gaara paused at the door and then knocked on it.
“Just a moment,” Hinata’s voice said from across the room and then they heard her footsteps before she opened the door. Her eyes widened as she looked up at them. “Wh — “
“We have to go back to Suna,” Gaara stated. “Something’s come up and we must go now.”
Hinata retreated back into her room and slipped her sandals back on, Gaara watching her the entire time as Kankuro looked behind them. He had a suspicion that if Hyuga found them outside his daughter’s bedroom door, things could get rather bad rather fast.
Hinata brushed off her pants and then said, “Let’s go.” She led them down the hall and out the front door. She glanced over at Gaara as they hurried in silence. He wasn’t looking at her, simply staring straight ahead, brooding. She knew better than to ask what had just happened in Suna. She was about to turn down towards the Hokage’s complex when Kankuro told her that they were to meet the Kazekage at the gates. Hinata turned back to the main road and they continued in silence. She again stole a glance at Gaara as they walked. The silence felt deafening and she wanted to break it, but she had nothing to say.
Finally they reached the main gates where the Kazekage stood with his entourage.
“You came quickly,” the Kazekage noted as the two Sand ninja joined the group. “Good. We must leave at once.”
Hinata watched them a moment and then her eyes widened. She had until Gaara left to tell him what she had decided, but he was leaving now. She had to say it now!
“Gaara!”
The redhead turned to look at her.
“I’m still willing to try, if you are!”
He met her eyes and then nodded before disappearing with the others in a cloud of sand.
~*~
Hinata was born during the coldest time of the year in Konoha. Sometimes on her birthday it snows, but today it was cloudy and cold, but not cold enough to snow. She sat on her bed and stared out her window. Today Gaara was coming but without the entourage. Since the day she had promised to keep trying, she had been to Suna twice and Gaara had come to Konoha once. Today, however, would be the first time he had come to Konoha without having to conduct business with the Hokage.
Hinata twirled one of the tie strings on her jacket, watching the knot twist around in her fingers. It was getting easier little by little. She still didn’t know what to say to Gaara most of the time, but it wasn’t so hard to look at him anymore. She looked out at her backyard and sighed. In just three weeks, she would report to Suna to participate in the festivities surrounding Gaara becoming Kazekage. She would be gone from Konoha for one week, the longest she had ever been away from her home in all her life.
She heard footsteps approaching her room and she stood up, straightening her clothes as she heard a knock. Opening the door, she saw her little sister Hanabi looking up at her. The girl was in the top of her class at the ninja academy and she was almost as tall as Hinata even though she was only five years younger.
“They’re here,” Hanabi told her and motioned her head in the direction of the main room.
Hinata thanked her and smoothed out her kimono. In Konoha her birthday was a widely-celebrated event since she was a heir to the Hyuga clan. However, since she agreed to marry Gaara, Hanabi had become the heir, but some people still sent wishes and gifts nonetheless. Hinata passed a table with them on it, and entered the main room, bowing to her guests.
Gaara and a ninja of the Sand Hinata had never met before were seated in front of Hyuga. When she entered, Hyuga looked to the Sand ninja and indicated that they leave. The ninja looked to Gaara who nodded, and the taller ninja left the main room.
Hinata slowly crossed it and then sat down in front of Gaara. His skin showed he was cold but the expression on his face and his body language masked it well. “Thank you for coming.”
He nodded, meeting her eyes. Hinata didn’t look away. “Happy birthday,” he said after a time and handed her a wrapped box. He didn’t offer an explanation or anything else. For a faint moment, Hinata roughly remembered one time when Naruto gave her something in the year before he left. He had gone on and on about how hard it was and everything about the process of getting her the gift. Yet, as soon as Naruto entered her mind, he exited. It was becoming easier to push him away from her thoughts.
“Thank you.” She gave him a small smile and took the gift. “Can I open it?”
He nodded.
Hinata carefully slipped a slim finger under one of the folds of the paper. It was simple paper and was rough and thick like a grocery bag. Carefully she broke the tape and then slowly removed the box from its wrappings. It was the size of a shoe box and made of a similar material. Suna wasn’t an extremely poor country but it was far bellow the stature of Konoha. That had been part of the source of their feuding over centuries. Opening it, Hinata parted the packing paper and then took out a decorated fan. Slipping it out, she felt the smooth stone ends and then flipped it open. The seven-inch fan spread out into a painted landscape with a sun overhead lighting the area. She closed it and carefully put it back in its box. “Thank you.”
Gaara nodded and they fell into silence. His green eyes looked around the room as Hinata looked down at the box still in her lap. Standing, she said in her quiet manner, “I should put this somewhere.” She headed to the door and looked over her shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”
She walked down the hallway carrying the box carefully. She glanced briefly at Gaara’s guard as she passed him. He seemed to be watching her with caution as though she could possibly be an enemy. Turning away, Hinata entered the east end of the house and opened the door to her room. She walked over to her bureau and placed the box carefully on top of it and put the wrapping paper in the trash. Pausing, she took a deep breath. Closing her eyes, she exhaled. It was so odd how much easier this was getting. The thought of that put her more on edge than Gaara ever had.
Dusting off her kimono, she sighed. They couldn’t stay in the main room for all the time he was there. The weather was cold and he didn’t have an adequate coat either. Folding her arms, Hinata looked around her room and then she sighed. She was taking too long. Walking back towards the main room, she looked outside. Konoha was preparing for Shogatsu and decorations were already up. The village-wide holiday lasted from the first until the third of January. It was only the twenty-seventh of December now though. Some countries didn’t celebrate Shogatsu. She wasn’t sure if Suna did or not.
She sat down in front of him again, the pair enveloped in silence. Even it felt more natural, conversation couldn’t come. He was too quiet and she was never sure what to say. Finally she asked, “Are you cold?”
“No.”
Hinata eyed him and fell silent again. She wanted to say something — anything, but nothing was coming. She looked down at her hands folded in her lap. She would not resort to talking about the weather. The last time she was in Suna she had talked about the weather. That had been too disjointed. Sighing inwardly, she said, “Thank you for coming.”
“You said that,” Gaara pointed out as he looked away from the window.
“I know,” Hinata murmured. “I just can’t think of anything to say or do.”
Gaara didn’t say anything. He continued looking out the window. The weather was becoming too tempting a subject. Finally, he said, “What day are you coming to Suna?”
“The eleventh,” Hinata responded, picking at her kimono. “I know it’s a day early, but I thought that I could come more quietly that way.”
Gaara nodded. This was going nowhere. He stood up, Hinata’s eyes following him questioningly. “Let’s go outside.”
Hinata stood up and brushed off her kimono before asking, “Do you want a coat? I’m sure that you could borrow — “
“I’m fine.” He put his hands in his pockets and started towards the front door, Hinata following out into the blustery Konoha afternoon. Putting her hands in the opposite sleeves, she fell in step with him.
They headed off towards the residential district, most people flocking towards the market district to prepare for the upcoming holiday. Hinata watched people heading in the opposite direction. Gaara watched them too as though waiting to glare. No one seemed to give either a nasty glance, some didn’t look at them, but some did smile, at least at Hinata.
“Hinata! Gaara!”
Gaara’s eyes instantly locked on the people coming towards them and Hinata’s soon followed before she returned their smiles. “Lee, Sakura, how are you?”
Sakura hooked a strand of her hair behind her ear. It was growing out again and hung down almost to her collar bone. “Good. We just met up around the corner on our way down to the market. Are you getting ready for Shogatsu?”
“Not yet,” Hinata replied.
As the girls began conversing about Shogatsu, Lee turned to Gaara. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“Yeah,” Gaara returned.
“How’s everything?” Lee asked as Sakura started talking about kimonos with Hinata.
“It’s okay,” Gaara replied, stuffing his hands deeper into his pockets.
“Cold?”
“No.”
Sakura leaned over, glancing at the boys before whispering, “So how are you doing?”
“Fine,” Hinata sighed.
Sakura looked over at Gaara. “You’re doing better than I would.” She looked back at Hinata. She debated saying something, but kept quiet. “How long is he staying?”
“Only today.” Hinata shifted her weight. She was cold and she wasn’t sure what she was really supposed to tell Sakura. She looked over at Gaara. He seemed to be turning blue, but kept up the façade that he wasn’t cold. She looked back over at Sakura. “We should be going.”
“We should be going too,” Sakura agreed as she walked back over to Lee.
The group exchanged waves and farewells and then they left in opposite directions. Gaara and Hinata walked down the sidewalk, color slowly returning to their cheeks with their brisk pace. “It was nice to see them,” Hinata said, breaking the silence.
“Yeah.”
They fell back into silence. Hinata looked around at the bare trees and cloudy sky. Then she looked over at Gaara. “Does Suna celebrate Shogatsu?”
“We celebrate something like it.” Gaara quickened the pace slightly to keep warm. “We have a Winter Festival to celebrate the coldest part of the year since it’s the best weather we have all year long.”
Hinata looked over at him. “What do you do?”
“There are costumes and dances,” Gaara explained. “Businesses close on the fourth day of celebration, but they stay open in shifts for the other days. The Kazekage can’t participate until the last day. He hides from the village for six days and then on the seventh day, he appears and we welcome the coming of spring.”
After a moment of silence, Hinata said, “That sounds interesting. Will you have to go into hiding for six days also?”
“No, it’s the last time I will be able to go out into the festival for a very long time.” They walked a bit longer and then he said, “You will tell me about it after we’re married,” he paused, remembering that he had to work on asking her things rather than telling, “won’t you?”
Hinata almost paused at the question and then she spoke. “Yes, I’ll tell you.”
“We should go back, I have to leave soon.” Gaara slowed his pace slightly.
“Alright.”
